Magical Boy -「TSUBASA VS Lion」
by Emerald Sonata
Summary: Basara, Tsukasa is just your average high school boy. He struggles to keep up with his grades and constantly finds himself in trouble he does not want to be in. However, he is forced to do what no other people like him has ever done before: fighting monsters as a Magical Girl.
1. Part 1 - DILEMMA

**Theme Inspired by the **_**'Sailor Moon'**_** series .**

* * *

**Magical Boy  
****「魔法少年」**

**{ TSUBASA****「翼」****VS Lion****「獅子」 ****}**

_(By: Emerald Sonata)_

* * *

**[~PART 1~]**

…_,…***BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR~***_

"…Mm…mmm…"

A young high school boy was lying flat on his back across his bed. His blanket was lying in a skew across his body, not properly covering up the boy – but he did not give a care. An arm of his was curled over his face, shielding his eyes from the crack of sunlight coming from the window, as well as the screaming of his alarm clock.

"…Tch."

_***SLAP~!***_

In one swift move, the high school boy twisted onto his side and flung a hand at the source of the noisy. With a PANG-noise, the alarm clock was put down into several pieces – forever put to rest.

The sweet sound of silence filled his room again, and the boy lazily rolled back to his other side to return to a peaceful sleep.

"Stupid clock."

"I don't mean to be rude but, I kindly suggest you take my advice and wake up now."

The high school boy indeed woke up – a deadpan of a sneer on his face.

"…I thought I told you that you're not the boss of me – _I am_. Now keep quiet and give me five more minutes."

"As much as I hate disturbing others from their deserved sleep, like any other normal person, it is really unfortunate that you don't have 5 minutes."

"Oh yeah? Why do you say that?"

"Because it's 8:25 AM."

"…HAH?!" The high school boy sprung up from his bed, his blanket exploding off him. He flipped up the now-dead alarm clock that was lying on its face. The color in the boy's face drained out instantly.

"…,…I'M LAAAAAAAAA~TE!"

The high school boy immediately jumped off his bed and dove for the nearest bathroom he could find in his apartment. Within the first 10 seconds, he was already shampooing his hair while furiously brushing his teeth.

"WHY THE HECK DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME?!"

"…I have the right to remain silent about that."

"LIKE HECK YOU DO!"

While the high school boy continued to clean and wash up, he was arguing with someone from a distance. The voice belonged to that of a young woman, as if she was born and bred among the ranks of nobility or the aristocratic.

However, between his bedroom and the bathroom, there was no one there other than the boy. Unless this person was either invisible or out of view – the former, of course, being more far-fetched.

"Darn it! Darn it! DARN IT ALL!"

Normally, an average student would have taken about 15 or so minutes to prepare. This high school boy ran back into his room, fully cleaned and somewhat tidied, in less than 20 seconds.

He wore a simple white dress shirt and black tie, his school's coat-of-arms insignia stitched over his heart with its gold and red theme. While he stumbled into and about his room, he fixed the buckle of his tan-colored dress pants and hastily began to pull on some socks.

Once again, the unknown voice began to berate him.

"Ugh, you truly are an obscene man – dressing up in front of a pure maiden like that."

"SHUT UP!" The boy ignored the voice in his room and literally leapt over to a desk in his room.

Calling it a mess was an understatement. It was completely swamped with all sorts of stuff one would find from school. Textbooks from various subjects, piles of crumbled paper, scraps of homework pages, supplementary practice booklets, pens and pencils, a clump of eraser dust – the list can keep going on forever.

The high school boy ignored it all. There was just no time to worry about that now. So this was what he did: he picked up a history textbook from the pile, clamped its spine to his teeth, then stuffed everything else into his tiny school bag with one sweep of his arm.

Without another second wasted, he dashed straight for the door.

"Ahem…"

The high school boy twitched at the voice, screeching to an abrupt and smoking halt. A nasty snarl crossed his lips.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" the lady-like voice continued in a cool and expecting tone.

"Tch. And I thought if I was fast enough, I could've had the excuse that I completely forgot about you, so I can leave you behind…"

"…Vagabond."

The high school boy swiped up one more thing that was sitting on the corner of his desk and – rudely – stuffed it into his pocket.

"Bite me."

And he was off.

[******]

"Darn it all! There's no way I'll have time to study like this!"

"You're going to be late for your first class, and all you can think about is having no time to study?"

Through the streets of a certain commercial district in the middle of Tokyo, Japan, a certain high school boy was making a mad dash for it. If one were none the wiser, they would have thought he committed a crime and was now on the run from the law. Obviously, that was not the case.

Although he was sprinting at the speed of an amateur Olympic sprinter, he held open the history textbook and was more focused on that than the road ahead of him.

"You just don't get it! I've got a history exam in the second period! And thanks to that little debacle yesterday – not only did that _thing_ wasted my entire day, I was so tired in the end I practically fell asleep halfway reading the material. Gah, this is all _your_ fault!"

"Hmph. I only do what I must. Besides, it is also your responsibility as well as mine."

"THE HECK?! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S FORCING ME INTO _THIS_!"

The lady-like voice continued to follow the high school boy, keeping up closely despite his inhuman speed to reach to school 'on time'. However, other than the stragglers of pedestrians that went this way and that…there was no one in particular following him – not that one could obviously see.

Still, the voice kept sticking to him to the very—

"Stop."

"Huh?"

The high school boy instinctively skidded to a halt, in time for a large truck to whiz right by him. He stopped his studying for history and glimpsed over his book. The boy was greeted to the sight of a busy cross-walk, with all sorts of cars zipping past him, the walk-light flashing a large red hand.

At the same time, other pedestrians who wished to cross the road began to gather about – bunching up like marbles trying to sneak towards a plugged hole.

The lady-like voice broke the silence, "…Would it really kill you to say 'thank you?'."

"…Buzz off, I'm reading."

"?"

Apart from the duo's conversation, standing right behind the high school boy was a young girl with short hair. She wore a different kind of uniform to the boy, meaning she belonged to another school somewhere else in the Tokyo district. The girl was talking to a good friend on a cellphone, but having heard the high school boy's words, she thought he was referring to her (as there was no one else he was talking to in particular).

What a rude person, she thought, and continued on with her talk with her friend.

The high school boy was not at all aware of this cellphone girl.

"Guuuh. If only this was about the Sengoku Period, I know I can ace this test!"

"Seriously. You can't really rely on information you find in those history-inspired video games you play. They are not entirely accurate you know."

"Ssssh! Quit crushing my hopes!"

"?..." The cellphone girl heard the high school boy 'talking' to her again. His voice was getting louder, if not rougher. She could not help a sneer, and tried to ignore his existence and dove deeper into her friend's gossip for the day.

The lady-like voice went on, shrugging off the high school boy with a cool tone.

"In all honesty, you should be clear as to what your true priorities are. Instead of worrying about your meaningless grades, you should focus more on your responsibilities to the world. If you cannot find a resolution soon, your ignorance will only be this planet's very undoing…Such a pity."

The high school boy, blew his top off indiscriminately.

"SHUT UP – YOU WITCH!"

A certain cellphone was clapped shut in a single hand, its fingers squeezing its side like no tomorrow.

The walk-light switched from stopping-hand red to walking-man green.

_***POW~!***_

"OW!" The next thing the high school boy knew, an unknown force struck him in the back and he fell face first into the asphalt. The history textbook of his cluttered over his head like a cartoonish hat. "…THE – HECK?!"

The boy snapped his eyes behind him, locking stares with another pair that was just as dark.

The cellphone girl elegantly dropped down her right foot, slapping the dust off her ankles. With a _'hmph'_, she spun on her heels and walk off to another crosswalk. 'There was no way this prime young woman would walk the same road as that creep', was what she thought with a brush of her short hair.

"Seriously! What's your problem, for crying out loud?!" the high school boy snarled.

"Haaa, I can only imagine…" sighed the lady-like voice.

The high school boy glared burning daggers at the cellphone girl's fading image. He picked himself up, slapped the dust off his clothes, swiped up his history textbook (opening the page he was last reading) and—

"KYAA!"

—Stopped in the middle of his tracks.

A sudden surge of awareness filled the high school boy's eyes. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned to the source of the sound. Even though he was standing the middle of a crosswalk that was instantly filled with swarming people, he could see through the open cracks of what was going on.

A girl was kicking all over the place and tried to scream as best as she could. However, several tall men bounded her up with their thick arms and muffled her cries with a single hand. With one tug, she was sucked into a nearby alleyway.

That girl had short hair, wore a school uniform different than the high school boy's, and clenched tightly onto a flip-open cellphone.

After a long pause, a rather sour look crossed the high school boy's face.

"…Well? Aren't you going to save her?" asked the voice. Whoever the voice belonged to, she seemed to have clearly seen the situation as well. Now, she was only waiting for a proper response.

"…"

Without an answer, the high school boy…kept walking along the crosswalk.

"…You vagabond."

"It's not my problem! I've got my own mess to deal with right now! I'm no super hero, you know!"

"Who says?"

"ME!" The high school boy tried to pick up his pace to leave the scene as quick as he can. He did his best to ignore what he saw by frantically memorizing all the dates and events conducted by the Japanese Emperors of the time. "The best I can do now is call the police for her at the nearest payphone – and that's it! I _can't_ and _don't _want to get involved with something I have no handle over! Besides…what can I _really_ do to help that girl on my own?…"

A scowl crossed the boy's lips, more to himself than anyone else regardless of what was happening around him.

"…If I can't take care of myself…how the heck do you expect me to take care of others?"

"…Then I will decide for you."

"Huh?—HEY!"

The high school boy staggered to a halt, before he was able to reach the end of the crosswalk. Something in his pocket was shaking violently and he tried to stop it by pressing it down. Also, he felt something searing like fire through his pant-legging as he began to frown even deeper.

The lady-like voice made one last warning.

"If you do not go and help that poor maiden…I shall help you _change_ right here…"

"…You wouldn't…"

The next thing anyone knew, a brilliant green light blazed from the high school boy's pocket.

"A lady _never_ tells a lie."

"…"

Then…the high school boy's face was ripped with a massive grimace.

[******]

Cellphone girl was slammed into a dark and wet wall. She tried to run away, but a kick stomped down next to her to block her off. Reluctantly, she turned to face four tall men who surrounded her.

Thugs of a small street gang.

"Morning girly. Mind handing us your pocket money so we can grab some breakfast? We're starving you know."

The group's leader was a thin looking man with shaggy blonde-dyed hair and wore a dirty toque on top of his head. A tooth or two of his were missing and he leaned in close to the cellphone girl as if he was leaning out a small window.

Cellphone girl held back the urge to throw up. Years of smoking and drinking alcohol contaminated the leader's breath.

"Well? Where's the dough?"

"…" Cellphone girl was shaking all over and she struggled a response.

She did not have any money.

"…Hah?" The leader tilted his head – too far off an angle to be considered normal.

Cellphone girl gave the following explanation: due to a little incident with her friends at a karaoke club, her parents grounded her with certain restrictions – and no allowance for two weeks was one of them.

Something cold touched her cheek and she instinctively felt for it with her small fingers.

A knife.

And it was pressed against her soft cheeks.

It took one full minute for that to register into cellphone girl's head…and her entire body went white as a ghost, if not stiff as a statue.

The leader, was not happy, "So, no money?"

Tears rolled out of cellphone girl's eyes.

"Hey, don't sweat it girly. If I give you a nice harmless mark on your face, I'm sure your mommy will reconsider in cutting off your allowance the next time she grounds you. Okay?"

Heartlessly, the leader wound back his knife-clasped hand for an unfortunate slash.

Cellphone girl could do nothing. She could only close her teary eyes…and pray.

"OI!"

Cellphone girl woke up – thinking it was all just a dream she had went through, until she saw a familiar knife hovering an inch over her forehead. The leader had stopped in mid-slash, and along with his three lackeys was looking off into space in a unified fashion.

Eventually, she gathered the courage to look where they were staring at…and saw a familiar high school boy racing straight towards them with a—

"UWOOOOOOOOOOOO~OOOOOOOOOOO~OOOOOOOOOOH~!"

_***WHAAAAAAM~!***_

"Hm? Mm…—GAAAAAAH!"

A fist collided straight into the leader's face – cracks undeniably spreading all over his skull. In the beginning, the blow never really occurred to be that important for the leader. Now…it was worse than being ploughed over by a semi-truck.

In a zip-lining flash, the leader's limp body shot through the air and crumbled into a garbage heap that was piled at the very end of the alley – over 10 meters in distance.

One by one, the other three thugs turned to look at where their boss went to – completely dumbfounded. Cellphone girl was the same, but she was quicker to turn back to stare at the owner of a hanging fist.

"_*Pant*_…_*Pant*_…_*Pant*_…You freaking douchebag…"

The high school boy kept his fist up, breathing like a novice runner after a 26 mile run – with no breaks in between.

But he did not stop there—

"ERAAAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Heh?" One of the thugs closest to the high school boy turned, received a devastating left hook into his big belly. The effect equaled to that of thick rubber being shot by a cannon ball – point blank range.

The first of the three thugs collapsed instantly without a sound.

Just as the two remaining thugs also turned about—

"SCREW – YOU!"

—A blinding heel-turn kick slashed across their faces. If the attack came any fast, the very skin on their heads could have melted right off on the spot. The two of them both slammed into the wall with swift bounce and then keeled over onto the side like a pair of dead dominoes.

The fight started and ended within 5 seconds.

Cellphone girl could only stare at what just happened. It was like something out of a Jackie C*** movie or so, she thought. It was just…unreal.

The high school boy straightened, swiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm.

Cellphone girl gazed at him now, a strong feeling swelling up within her body. It felt…warm, comforting even. Was this…the feeling of being saved by a hero?

A flustering aura radiated from cellphone girl. Her feet and legs began to fidget. She bit her lips nervously while she twiddled a bit of her hair with her fingers. It somehow felt like she was in the middle of a fairy tale: a princess from a far away kingdom being kidnapped by nasty bandits and her knight/prince in shining armor comes riding to her rescue. It was a sweet and wonderful feeling.

Cellphone girl bravely turned to her savior, took in a deep breath, and—

"Deh! 8:28?! GAAAAH, I'M LAAAAAAAAAAAA~TE!"

"…" Cellphone girl said nothing – or rather, she was never given a chance to say anything.

Before she could even say 'Thank you', her savior ran off at Mach speed – dust trailing in his shrinking wake.

Surrounded by the unconscious bodies of the bandits/thugs, the princess/Cellphone girl was left all alone…a cold breeze drifting past her.

[******]

"DARN IT ALL – DARN IT ALL – DARN IT A~~~~~~~LL!"

A typhoon raced through the streets, kicking a deadly storm in its trail without mercy. The high school boy threw all possible logic out the window and ran as fast as reality could allow it.

At the same time, he stuffed his hand into his pocket and yanked something out to bring it to his glaring face.

A pink cellphone.

"Happy now – huh?! Tch, thanks to you, not only am I definitely going to be late for first period, but I'll never get the time to prepare for that history exam!"

The lady-like voice, belonging to the pink cellphone, replied while blinking a small light across its LED-screen to every word.

"Tardiness and poor grades are but trifles when it comes to protecting the pure heart of a maiden. You should instead feel proud for making such a noble sacrifice in the name of love and justice."

The high school boy just scowled at the level-headed pink cellphone.

"…Celestia…you really are a witch, you know that?"

"You're very welcome, lowly vagabond."


	2. Part 2 - CHAOS

******Theme Inspired by the **_**'Sailor Moon'**_** series .**

* * *

**Magical Boy  
****「魔法少年」**

**{ TSUBASA****「翼」****VS Lion****「獅子」 ****}**

_(By: Emerald Sonata)_

* * *

**[~PART 2~]**

The classroom was a wide and spacious place, able to hold about 25 students or so. The male to female student ratio was more or less equal, and most of them got along with each other's' antics without trouble – to a certain extent.

In other words, it was just your everyday high school class right before homeroom.

The door to their classroom slid open. At first, one would expect a teacher to waltz right into the throng of the students who were chatting away excitedly…but no one came. Instead, the door shortly slid to a close.

_***Tap* - *Tap* - *Tap*~**_

The sound of short-heeled shoes echoed across the floor, slowly getting everyone's attention. What really brought them to order was when someone popped up from behind the tall teacher's podium.

It was a child.

"Good morning, cla~ss!"

"Good morning, sensei!"

After the exchange, all of the students respectfully returned to their assigned seating order without so much of a fuss. On the contrary, they were rather bright and energetic upon seeing this child appear in the front of their class; as if she was really a teacher.

…To be exact, this child was actually their homeroom instructor.

This girl was about 140 centimeters tall – age unknown – and despite her size she radiated an air of a mature woman – if not a tad bit child-like on the side. She was fully clad in a long-sleeved and deep scarlet dress shirt, a black pencil-skirt, long thigh-high stockings, and little red shoes with short-heels.

Covering her body was a long white lab coat, giving her the impression that she was some super smart researcher of a mysterious project. She was standing on top of a small wooden box, which allowed her to see everyone without trouble – as the podium stand was indeed more than 140 centimeters in height.

With long golden curly hair that reached her calves, a pair of slim-framed glasses that shielded her round, pretty, and sparkling blue eyes, she gave everyone in the class a brilliant smile of pure cuteness.

If no one mistaken her for an elementary school kid dressed up as a teacher – they would definitely believe she was some sort of porcelain doll brought to full life.

The teacher's full name was Katsureina, Mirai「勝鈴名・未来」.

"Sensei hopes everyone is present, as she is going to begin roll call! Sensei really hates to mark her students late for class, so please don't disappoint her today~!"

"Ye~s, sensei~!" The class chirped back whole heartedly.

Katsureina-sensei smiled even wider, as if enjoying herself – which was true.

"Now just to let you all know: Sensei was a bit of a klutz this morning and the name list ended up being out of alphabetical order. So, she will call by the list, okay? Right…Sugin, Touko-cha~n – Ah, there you are with your rose hair-clip! Eeeh, Kuroi, Shirako-cha~n – Oh, there you are in the back. Wait, you weren't there a moment ago, how did you…Oh well. Mmm, Heartfolder, Lucia-cha~n – Hee-hee, don't worry sensei recognizes you and your sun-blonde hair; you're so cute with it! Basara, Tsukasa-ku~n…Basara, Tsukasa-ku~n…E-eh, Tsukasa-kun?"

Unlike the previous names, no one answered to this particular name. There was not even so much of a fidget from this person in the class (should he be hiding that is). Katsureina-sensei's bright face instantly fell.

"No, not again, Tsukasa-kun…anymore and you'll be in big trouble. Sensei really wants to help you but…it's already 8:28…Huuu, please forgive Sensei, Tsukasa-kun—"

_***FWIIP~!***_

"PRESEEEEEEEEE~EEEEEEEEEENT!"

A young man burst into the room, shoving aside the sliding door with a slam and stood at the doorway – utterly exhausted. Not only was he drenched in sweat, but his lungs were either going to collapse or burst at the rate he was hyper-ventilating.

He whipped back his long unkempt black hair and gazed his bright green eyes directly at Katsureina-sensei's blue ones.

The high school boy had arrived – at exactly 8:29 with several seconds to spare. Clenched tightly in one hand was a strange and silent pink cellphone.

"Ah! Tsukasa-kun! You're here!" Katsureina-sensei called out ecstatically.

Basara, Tsukasa 「バサラ・司」, the high school boy's official name, could only return a shaky nod. His body on the verge of breaking down, he dragged his shaking legs toward an empty desk that was located in the third of the first-three rows and right next to a wide window view.

With a single wheeze, he plopped down into his seat and just stayed there – like a deflated doll.

"Not…late…"

"…Actually, you are."

"…Heh?…HAH?!" Tsukasa burst up in his seat with newfound energy, staring wide eye at his nervous teacher, "Wh-what do you mean?! I made it at 8:29, right?!"

Katsureina-sensei anxiously scratched her cheek, "Th-that's true…but the school's official rule about tardiness is that: if you mark down the late person's name, they are officially considered late for the class…And Sensei, uh…was so startled by your sudden appearance that she accidentally ticked your name off…Also, Sensei's not allowed to change it because of the rules…Sorry, Tsukasa-kun."

The high school boy sagged back in his seat again like a dead doll.

"…Screw it, I don't care anymore."

After several more sincere apologies from Katsureina-sensei, she quickly finished up the rest of the roll call. When everyone was accounted for – with only one late/absent student for the day – Katsureina clapped her hands together to bring forth another announcement.

"Sensei really hates to break it to everyone…but due to difficult circumstances, your exam for the second period will be moved…to first period—E-eek! D-don't panic! Don't panic! Sensei did her very best to reject it…but she was outnumbered 10 to 1…and she's not very good at fighting…Sensei's so sorry again!"

Katsureina-sensei dropped into a deep bow, and was soon assaulted by gasps, groans, complaints, denials, and all the like.

The high school boy, Tsukasa, twitched an eye.

"…Crud."

"What a surprising turn of events, don't you agree?"

_***SLAM!***_

Tsukasa silenced the new voice by slamming his cellphone across his desk – as hard as he could. The sound was so loud, everyone thought it was a signal to pipe down and listen to the rest of Katsureina-sensei's explanation. It really was not the case.

"Y-you barbarian!" wheezed the pink cellphone, named Celestia, in a tiny and shaken voice, "You could have broken something in me!"

Tsukasa dipped his head deep, leveling his own words to Celestia as if whispering into her ear.

"Oi, didn't we agree to a _'no talking to each other in class'_ contingency…One more peep from you, and I'll show you how creative I can be in destroying a cheap cellphone."

"Grrrr…Brute."

With that, the boy sat back in his chair as if nothing happened. Despite the sudden change of events for him…he was still able to pull on straight and thoughtful face.

"Guess you can call it a good thing…I can take the history exam while the info is still fresh in my mind."

"On the way here, you barely got through a single page—"

_***SLAM!***_

"Guh!…Sigh, I often wonder what did I do in my previous life to receive such punishment."

Aside from the duo, Katsureina-sensei did her best to minimalize the discontentment of her class.

"Th-this is a final decision made by the headmaster himself. There's no turning back from it…So please prepare to take your tests everyone – and Sensei wants all of you to do your very best, understand?!"

The class let out a big and unified sigh in perfect synchronization. Then they began to pull out their pencil bags and other props – as if it was just another regular day in class. Guess one could say they were used to something like this.

Tsukasa followed, fishing through the load of junk he had stuffed into his small school bag this morning. From his point of view, looking for something to just write with was next to impossible.

Katsureina-sensei tried to put on a brave smile for everyone as she stacked up a pile of papers that she held up from the podium; the exam papers. Starting from the line that was next to the windows, she began to place the exams onto each of her student's desk column by column. Tsukasa was third to receive his test and he gave it a lazy glance…then froze.

"…U-um…Katsureina-sensei—"

"EEK! D-don't grab Sensei's coat like that so suddenly, Tsukasa-kun! Y-you almost scared Sensei to death!"

"S-sorry. U-uum…Isn't this supposed to be the history exam…Why does it say _'Calculas Examination'_ – in big block letters even, as if to emphasize that this is reality?"

"History exam?" Katsureina cutely blinked with genuine curiosity, "I think you're mistaken Tsukasa-kun. The history exam is set for tomorrow. Today is the calculus and pre-algebra exam. Did you forget?"

"…"

Since the moment he woke up to now, Tsukasa had only been reading almost-one-page worth of history. Nothing else. Thus his reaction…was obvious.

The high school boy slammed his head into the desk, all life and hopes shattered completely.

"…I'm screwed."

The pink cellphone could not help a small laugh – revenge was sweet, in a way.

"Hm-hmm. Serves you right, vagabond—"

_***SLAM!***_

"Geh!...Sigh…"

[******]

The commercial district of the Tokyo City was at peace. People went about with their daily lives, eating at cafes and fast food chains, off shopping at mega malls, or just lazing about on the sidewalk under a beautiful day. Though things will definitely become hectic when the afternoon rush hits – the city was, nonetheless, at peace.

"_MEEEAAAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!"_

Something exploded out of a nearby butcher's parlour. It felt like a smoke-covered semi-truck rushed right through it indiscriminately. The smoke poured out and spilled across the roads, freaking out traffic and instantly causing a small-scale traffic jam. People gathered to the sudden turn of events in their peaceful lives and stared on with utmost curiosity.

The smoke was suddenly blasted away by a single howl. The call was so great it knocked over every living being off their feet and sent them scattering.

Standing in the center of it all, was a giant monster.

"_ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~OOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!"_

It was a lion, somehow a mutant crossbreed with that of a professional body-builder. A thick burning orange mane covered its steel-hard cranium and reached down its spine past the shoulder blades. More of its mane had grown across the back of its arms and the shins of his double-jointed legs. The lion's yellow-colored eyes glinted with bloodlust and its unmoving and hanging jaw gave off a nasty snarl. Its lion-tail snapped a whipping crack, scaring off several more onlookers nearby.

And it was only after one thing:

"_MEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAT~! I WANT MEAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~T! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"_

The lion beast began its rampage. It charged all over the place, shredding nearby cars into cheap shreds of tin-foil. Every stamp it made into the ground cracked the cement under its very weight and might. It laid destruction over everything within his sight, whether it be light-posts, mail boxes, store fronts, or even parked buses.

"_HUNGRY! MUUUUST – HAAAAAAVE – MEEEEEEEEEEE~EEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!—*Sniff*-*Sniff*…Hmm?"_

A special scent caught the lion beast's attention. It smelt the air, trying to trace its source. When it found it…its hanging jaw dropped to the floor and instantly flooded itself with drool.

Meat. A huge pile of all kinds of animal meat was stacked up close by – having spilt out of the same butcher's parlour the creature had destroyed a moment ago. It had hit the mother-load – and it did not wait to have its head buried in meat heaven like an ostrich (which was also among the stack).

"_MMMMM! Beef! Chicken! Pork! Lamb! Peking Duck! Roast Turkey! Emu! Llama—MEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAT!"_

_***VIII-OOO-VIII-OOO-VIII-OOO-VIII-OOO~!***_

A fleet of law enforcement vehicles came rushing into the scene, flashing red, white, and blue everywhere in their wake. They were the counter-force dispatched by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

The police cruisers skidded into a barricading halt, immediately deploying their uniformed troopers across the asphalt. Everyone was armed to the teeth with revolves, handguns, submachine guns, and even shotguns to boot. They quickly surrounded the lion in a flash, aiming their guns straight at it.

Of course, due to the lion's obsessively bad table manners, the officers could not help several sweatdrops.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON…Or at least stop eating…"

"_YUUUUUUUUM~!"_ The lion finished its meal entirely – vanquishing that huge pile in 30 seconds flat. But… _"More. More meat! Need more meat!"_

The lion beast turned onto the officers that surrounded it. A glint flashed over its yellow eyes – a bad omen.

"…Oh cra—UWAAAAAH!"

The next moment, the officers faced a nightmare beyond their wildest dreams.

The lion stormed through their barricades, stirring chaos like a child throwing a tantrum. Cruisers were either crushed into burning explosions or fell apart into torn scrap heap. The police counter-force opened fire with all their might, but their bullets were all reflected as if they hit a brick wall. With a mighty laugh, the lion played 'pass' with the officers by tossing an armored van at them all – sending them scattering. When the odds were against someone by this big of a margin – it cannot be helped.

"_Ha-ha-ha-ha! Run, run, run! More running equals firmer meat! I love meat! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…MEAT!"_

"EEEEEEK!"

The lion suddenly fell from the air and landed across the ground, swiping up a nearby woman who could not have gotten away in time. The monster brought her up to eye-level, staring at her with literally hungry eyes. The woman could only pale and instinctively freeze, utterly powerless. And just when the lion moved in for the feast…

"_*Sniff*…*Sniff*-*Sniff*…Meat no good. Too old."_

The woman, who was in her mid-30s, flinched.

He broke the unspoken taboo.

_***PAM!* – *PAM!* – *PAM!* – *PAM!*~**_

"_OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OOOW!"_

The woman was in a mad rage. She slapped her handbag back and forth across the lion's face, giving it no mercy as she went on and on and on. _'Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned'_ as they always say (so please, do not try this at home.)

"_GAAAAAH! Old meat bad! Too mean! OW-OW-OW-OW!" _

'Miraculously' the lion dropped the mid-30s woman. Despite the moment of salvation, the only thing that could stop her from ripping the lion beast apart was a whole brigade of policemen clad in full riot gear. Unhappy, the lion began to make a sprint – leaving behind crushed foot prints in the street.

"_URAAAAAAAH! Mean meat no fun! But, I want more meat! Huuuuungry!…Hmm?"_

The lion beast skidded to a halt – slicing through a column of cars that all stopped at a red-light. The creature noticed something in the distance, all the way down the very long road it was on. On top of the hill some miles away, was a simple looking school complex.

The lion's hanging jaw curled up into a great big and drooling smile.

"_Meat…fresh and tender meat…kiddie meat…"_


	3. Part 3 - HERO

**Theme Inspired by the **_**'Sailor Moon'**_** series.**

* * *

**Magical Boy  
****「魔法少年」**

**{ TSUBASA****「翼」****VS Lion****「獅子」 ****}**

_(By: Emerald Sonata)_

* * *

**[~PART 3~]**

'_What is the limit of this graph? State your best answer in Big O Notation…'_

'_Let f(x) = SQR_ROOT(2x + 1). If _g_ is the inverse function of _f_, then g-prime(45) is…'_

'_What is the derivative of f(x) = 3x^5 – 4x^(-2) + 3x – 43?...'_

Each and every questions encountered on the given test could be easily answered by this response – all by a certain high school boy…

(…The freaking-good-glory heck do I know…)

Tsukasa was in a pinch. He did not prepare for the calculus exam he was taking right now. He could not at all answer any one of the given questions – neither having a speck of confidence in selecting any of the multiple choices. He…was really screwed.

(Tch…Don't jinx myself you idiot!)

Thus…Tsukasa could only curse his own luck in his head – all the while trying to keep a cool and straight face as best as possible.

If the problem did not lie in being unable to properly answer any of the questions, it would be the fact that he had wasted more than a good hour just staring at them with a blank mind. As of now, there was little less than another hour before this exam would end. Either it was all over…or he had to do something – and fast.

Throwing rationality out the window, Tsukasa tackled the multiple choices first and began to randomly circle the best possible selection to each. Then he would just have to make up some close-enough excuse for the written answers.

This was not a good day, he grimaced to himself…

"Tsukasa!"

"SSSSSSSSSHHHH!"

The high school boy shut himself up the instant several students glanced at him for his sudden outburst. He faked a cough, pretended to hiss in pain from cutting a fingertip on his pencil sharpener – and immediately yanked out a pink cellphone from under his desk cubby.

Tsukasa whispered as quietly as he could.

'_THE FREAKING HECK, CELESTIA?!'_

Celestia, the pink cellphone, did the same.

'_I sense it! It's on its way here!'_

'_Don't talk to me right now, else the teacher's going to think I'm cheating or…What? What do you mean 'it's on its way here'?...G-GEH?! Y-you mean _it_?! _**It's**_ coming _here_, now?!'_

'_Confirmed! Its current distance from the school is 50 meters!'_

'_Wait – wait – __**wait!**__ There's no way one of those _things_ would show up – not at a time like this!'_

'_45 meters…40 meters…Ah! It somehow jumped from 40 straight to 25 meters…Now 15 meters! Prepare yourself, Tsukasa!'_

'_No, I won't! I completely refuse to believe in you right now – not when I'm in a middle of an important exam! If anything were to happen now – I'll fail indefinitely!'_

'_For heaven's sakes, Tsukasa, face reality. You're going to fail whether or not this situation is occurring – and you know it! So please, forget about your insignificant tests and focus at the task at hand—Ah! It's now less than 10 meters away and counting down – fast!'_

'_Darn it all! Darn it all! Darn it all! Th-this is just a dream – yes – just a nightmare! All you have to do is wake up! Open your eyes back to the days you never, ever, __**ever**__ made that stupid wish on that stupid star which had you ending up with a stupid girly cellphone that would not shut the heck up!'_

'_8 meters. 7 meters. 6 meters. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1—BRACE FOR IMPACT!'_

"STOOOOOOO~OOOOOOOOO~OOOOOOOOOOO~OOOOOOOP!"

Upon that very call, everyone in the room did in fact stopped writing their tests. Each and every single student, along with the male teacher who was invigilating them, all turned to Tsukasa who was standing up in the middle of his desk.

The high school boy did in fact wake up – to the reality he had just abandoned and was now regretting he returned with a bad landing. Letting go from gripping his tormented head, he slowly stared at the male teacher, who somewhat blankly stared back at him.

"Basara-kun," the teacher began to utter, picking up the pen he had dropped from a certain someone's scream, "…Are you alright?"

_***BOOOOOOOOOM~!***_

The roof caved in without warning – flooding the room with thick black smoke that swept all over the place. Ash and debris buried everything in its flooding wake, leaving no mercy. Screams rung, but were easily drowned out by the howls of destruction.

And a mighty roar sounded out.

"_MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!"_

The circle of dust clouds were blown away, revealing the source of the chaos to be none other than the lion beast that recently attacked the city. It took one good whiff of the air, and its hanging jaw stretched even wider into a grin.

"_YEEEEEEEEE~EEEEEEEEES! FOUND FRESH MEAT! TIME TO EAT!"_

"EEEEEEK! A-a-a-a-a-a-a big cat?-!"

Katsureina-sensei was sitting across the broken floor, patched with dust and soot, and stared blankly at the monster that was towering her – three times her own size.

A moment ago, she felt really bad for her students as they had to take their test earlier than expected. Thus, she only wanted to come by for a short visit, to give them her spiritual support. But that hope was all dashed apart – the same way how the lion beast wrecked the classroom itself.

"_Hmm?"_ Having caught Katsureina-sensei's cry, it turned to her. At first, it gave a small pause while it looked at the small teacher. The next second, giant hearts filled its yellow eyes, _"Ooooooooh! Pretty, pretty meat! Smell pretty too~!"_

In the monster's perspective, comparing the 'previous old meat' and this 'new and fresh meat' (as the teacher somewhat resembled an elementary child in well-fitted adult's clothing) – the difference in quality was obvious.

Because of that, Katsureina-sensei could only go, "…Heh?"

"…BRRRRRR?! BRR – BRR – BRR! PPUO-AAAAAAAH! THE HECK~?!"

From under a large pile of ash, broken chairs, tables, and debris, Tsukasa popped his head out. He tried to wriggle the rest of his body out, but that plan was going nowhere under all that weight. Sitting right on the 'shoulder' of the ash pile was Celestia, her cellphone body in one piece and, surprisingly, still clean.

"Tsukasa! Are you hurt?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK, YOU WITCH?! I'M STUCK, SO GET ME OUT OF THIS ALREADY!"

"Lowly vagabond! You're just asking the impossible from me! Anyway, that thing is a beast-class Bakemono, lion-type! And it looks extremely unstable."

Bakemono 「怪物」, a being beyond that of human origin or comprehension. Like the species in the animal kingdom, they come in many shapes and forms, possessing varying mind and intellect. Their purpose is one thing and one thing only: destroy all humans without mercy.

Tsukasa spat a mouthful of dry dust before scowling, "Yeah…I can see that…"

"Please focus, Tsukasa! You have to do something and it has to be soon, or else this Bakemono is going to bring down the entire school—Ah! Tsukasa! Over there!"

"Now what?!" Tsukasa somehow was able to look at the right direction…and his face paled.

"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-NO! S-s-s-stay back! Don't come any closer to Sensei! No! B-bad cat! Very bad cat! IYAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Tsukasa watched in horror as the lion beast lecherously reached a large hand out to his homeroom teacher, Katsureina-sensei.

This…was crossing the line – big time.

"Kkkkkkkk…DARN IT AAAAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAALL!"

The high school boy's fighting aura was so great, it exploded the burial of ashes that held him down and set him totally free. After swiping out a floating Celestia from mid-air, he pulled a CQC move (close-quarter combat) by rolling across the ground and towards a flipped desk. With a cry, he stomped his feet across the bottom of that desk.

With a loud BANG-noise, the table literally zipped an inch off the ground and headed straight for the lion beast's direction. The table took the monster by the knee, temporarily crippling it, and forced the whole meat-loving monster to slam into the ground – face first. It never even had a chance to touch Katsureina-sensei, let alone react fast enough to avoid such bludgeoning fall. The teacher was safe…more or less.

"Tsu…Tsukasa-ku~~~~~~n…"

The 140 cm tall teacher, was crying. Thick tears rolled down her small round face, as if she was a lost and scared little girl who could not find her mother. A certain student of hers came racing to her side – stomping over the spine of the fallen beast along the way (each step worth a toy-like squeak).

"K-Katsureina-sensei!"

"Tsu-Tsukasa-kun! Th-that thing was going to eat Sensei! Sensei doesn't want to be eaten, she would taste really, really bad. And…Sensei hasn't even been married yet…Uuuuuuuh, Tsukasa-kuuuuuun~!"

Basara, Tsukasa, gave a great big sigh. Yeah…she was alright, alright.

"GEH?!" The high school boy flinched when he heard something beginning to move behind him. The lion beast was starting to stir.

"Katsureina-sensei! Get out of here right now! If you want to live a long life and even get yourself a boyfriend, now is the best time to run for it!"

"B-but Sensei can't leave her students behind! Especially you, Tsukasa-kun!"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Wh-who said anything about _me_ staying behind?! There's no way in heck I'm going to fight that thing! I'm just an ordinary high schooler – what could I possibly do?! Now quit worrying and go – go – GO!"

Before Katsureina-sensei could say anything else – Tsukasa ushered two fellow classmates to pick their small teacher by the arms, and drag her out of the classroom as if a prisoner. And like any prisoner, she was kicking and screaming in absolute defiance.

"No! S-Sensei should stay and fight for her students! Even if sensei's body were to break, her soul will do everything she can to protect her students! Now, put down Sensei! Leave no one behind! Tsukasa-ku~n!"

With one last tug, Katsureina-sensei was gone. At the same time, the classroom was more or less cleared out. The only notable people inside were the lion beast – who started to move again – and Tsukasa – who quietly stared down at it. The high school boy put on a grimace.

"You creep…you just had to ruin my exam now did you? Thanks to you, I've lost my chance in boosting up my already low grades. So, you're going to take responsibility for the mess that you've put me in…or so I would like to say. What I really, _really_ want to say, from the bottom of my heart, is…I – AM – OUT!"

In a blink of an eye, Tsukasa bolted for the nearest exit without looking back. All the while, Celestia was yelling at him.

"TSUKASA! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT THIS BAKEMONO! NOW GET BACK IN THERE AND ACT LIKE A TRUE MAN – YOU COWARD!"

"SHUT UP! So what if I am a coward?! Anyone would do the same in a situation like this if their opponent was a freaking ugly monster! Sometimes, even cowards are considered the smartest – BECAUSE THEY LIVE LONGER THAN BIG HOT-HEADED HEROES!"

"Uuugh! I can't believe the likes of you! Very well then, I shall handle this threat in my own fashion!"

"Wha—HEY!"

A bright green glow filled the room, forcing Tsukasa to come to a smoking halt several inches away from an open doorway. The pink cellphone in his hand was once again radiating a brilliant green light, starting to lick itself all over the boy's body. His face paled instantly.

"Objection – objection – _objection_! L-look, I'll try to take it out myself – so don't you dare do _that_! Just give me 10 minutes."

"10 minutes? Hmph, that's more than enough for an afternoon tea, don't you agree?"

"…5 minutes tops."

"Deal."

"Uuuuuuuuuuuoooooooo~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

The high school boy completely ignored the one and only exit-chance he had, and ran back into the center of the classroom at full speed.

"_BPPPPP-BRUOH!"_ The lion beast snapped awake, unsticking its giant face from the broken floor. The moment it rose to one knee, grabbing at its spinning head—

_***WHAAAAAAAAM!***_

The high school boy drove a spinning-double-stomp into the beast's face.

"GAME OVER – I WIN—Huh?!"

Gravity played a trick on Tsukasa and pushed him down straight to the ground. He glanced up at this target, a significant pair of footprints stamped across its face. Despite the markings, the lion beast simple chuckled.

"_Heh-heh-heh-heh…Itchy…"_

"Tch! HYAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAH!"

Tsukasa sprung to his feet and instantly assaulted the lion beast's stomach with a series of rapid punches. His every strike came faster and faster, until it was nothing but a blur like a Gatling gun running at maximum output.

Still, the lion beast only stared down at the boy – as if to say 'what the heck are you doing, kiddo?'. With another chortle, the lion beast lifted up a hand…and flicked Tsukasa in the forehead.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The boy went bouncing across the floor – a giant having thrown a tiny pebble to bounce across an ocean. He fell into an uncontrollable roll before he was slammed sitting against a nearby wall. The urge to throw up surged up from his stomach to his throat, but he forcefully swallowed it down.

The gap in power between a giant meat-eating Bakemono and a normal everyday high school boy was just too great. Even yet, Tsukasa desperately crawled himself up back to his feet. Just as he thought of the perfect plan to take this 'douchebag' out bare-handed—

"Ah. Time's up."

"…WHAT?! THAT WAS BARELY A MINUTE!"

"Beginning transformation!"

"Hah?! N-no, no! Not _that_! Anything but _**that**_! Just give me my remaining four minutes and I'll definitely clean his clock with—STOP IT!"

A third time, the heavenly green glow filled the air once more. The entire room was casted under its light, vibrating a wave of warmth and salvation to those that stood under its glare. In the center of this light…was none other than the high school boy Tsukasa – and he was scared beyond his wildest imagination.

Celestia's voice rung out loud and true, brimming with full of confidence and justly pride.

"_**Universal Make Up! Activation!"**_

"NOOOOOOOOOOO~OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The cellphone automatically flipped itself open, unleashing a sparkling green vortex that swallowed the boy whole.

A transformation sequence begun…

_The body turned into a silhouette of neon green light, the clothing melting off into glittering dust. Ribbons of energy coiled around the arms, flashing away to become long white gloves. _

_Particles of sparkling green compressed over the body, forging parts of a pink and white one-piece dress over the entire torso. Shimmering mists weaved a frilly pink skirt around the waist, fluffing it out in place. _

_From behind the dress, a trail of pure silk stretched out to become a giant bowtie that resembled an illustrious butterfly with long elegant tails. Green powder wrapped around the feet, flashing into solid pink boots and magically trailed a pair of white thigh-high stockings up the legs to reach the thighs. _

_Finally, a glinting light sparked across the top of the head, swiping from right to left to become a cute pink and white-frilled new-style maid bonnet with long ribbons._

_The cellphone hovered right over everything, its original body metamorphing into another form. With a burst of sparkling lights and hearts, the cellphone became a pink magical stick with a heart-ringed scepter-head, an ovular emerald gem held in the center._

_***BING-BING-BING!***_

The vortex subsided like a calming storm…and there it was.

Basara, Tsukasa was fully clad in a certain pink and white uniform. Gripped in his right hand was the heart-ring magical stick.

Celestia, now a talking magical stick with a blinking gemstone, gave out one last cry to complete the transformation sequence.

"Magical Girl Celestial, has arrived!"

The lion beast found itself staring at what it just saw. Everything had happened in a single heart-beat. The whole change was so fast, the Bakemono had no idea what to do or say. Thus, it can only stare at the particular duo.

"We have transformed into Magical Girl Celestial mode, Tsukasa. Now your base attack power and speed has been doubled by the POWER_AUGMENT program, thus allowing you to be on equal term with the Bakemono."

"…"

"If you're still worried about disclosing your identity, as I mentioned previously, there is no need to fret. The magical dress you wear has already activated an anti-identity field and prevents others from recognizing who you are. In their eyes, they only see you as a complete stranger having arrived to their rescue."

"…"

"So, prepare yourself, Tsukasa! March onward to punish this brute of a monstrosity in the name of love and justice!"

"…"

"…Tsukasa! What are you standing still for?! Stop day-dreaming and fight for the greater—UWAH!"

The boy – in the pink and white dress – threw down his magical stick across the floor, as hard as he could. Celestia tumbled to the ground, and its gemstone madly blinked.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR YOU MANGY CUR?!"

"…I thought I told you—THAT I DON'T EVER – EVER – _**EVER**_ –WANT TO TRANSFORM INTO THIS LIVING _NIGHTMARE_ AGAIN! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Going mad with violent rage, Tsukasa pulled at his hair and wildly stamped all over the place.

He really, really hated this transformation…period.

The lion beast, confused, tilted its head.

"…_Why boy-meat wear girly shirt…you like crossdressing?"_

_***BAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAM!***_

"—_BURAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAH!" _

A fist crushed in the lion beast's face – one that was covered in a white glove with elegant frills. Unlike the previous human blows, the beast felt it – a hundred fold – and could literally sense its skull fracturing into tiny pieces. Rolling one bare yellow eye, it glanced at a certain high school boy who was forced to wear a magical girl uniform against his bitter will – the high-impact fist belonging to him.

"…What did you just call me, you stinking cat?"

"_Uuu, uuuu….Uuuuuuu…"_

"HAH!"

With something like an one-inch punch, the Bakemono's face was blown off the boy's fist. It did not stop there, as Tsukasa spun around – a lethal cyclone – and crashed another left hook into his enemy's head. The Bakemon's face was stretched insanely to one side, as if its cranium was no longer solid and made entirely out of cheap rubber.

"Now…DIE IN A HOLE – FLEABAG!"

Tsukasa leapt up on the spot and rammed a powered kick into the lion beast's chest. The attack fired the monster off its feet like a round from a naval-grade railgun, sending it crashing through 10 walls worth of classrooms. Conveniently, they were all empty – possibly having already evacuated the moment the lion beast had attacked.

"…_Owwy…"_

The Bakemono ended up being half-buried in a pile of rubble, two bowling-ball sized swellings stuck to its face and a one-inch deep kick-print engraved across his broad chest. Though its vision was slightly blurry from the inhuman concussion it had, it can clearly see the 10 meter tall killing aura burning around Tsukasa's body.

"Tch…I can't believe that didn't kill him…"

"TSUKASA!"

Narrowing his eyes with a grimace, the boy turned to look at the magical stick that was helplessly lying across the ground.

"…_This_ is all _your_ fault, Celestia."

"Enough with your complaining and pick – me – up! You can't win this fight without my help! There is no way you can defeat that monster with just bare fists alone, even if you are enchanted with the power of Magical Girl Celestial!"

"QUIT CALLING ME THAT RIDICULOUS NAME!"

The boy hated to admit it, but Celestia was right – he could not win a high-powered fight with just simple beatings. It was like trying to destroy a truck with just a metal baseball bat; either it would take forever to finish or it was not overkill enough. He soon went over to angrily pick up Celestia, holding up its heart-shaped ring as if a face and snarled at it.

"Tch. So what now, miss bossy-pants?"

"Ugh, how vulgar of you! For your knowledge, a well-bred lady – such as myself – would always wear a skirt—"

"Cut the chatter and tell me how to kill it?!"

"Have you already forgotten after so many repeated reminders? You're supposed to weaken the enemy before you can deal the final blow to finish it off!"

"…So to sum up, I just need to kick its butt until it can't get up anymore—"

Tsukasa instantly whirled around, a wall of air rushing right past him. It was not exactly air, but really the lion beast. Both a certain magical stick and a certain set of killer-claws clashed into a deadly lock, keeping both forces at bay on the spot.

The boy stretched an eager grin, "…Sounds like something I can handle."

"_You bad meat! Very bad meat! Good meat no hurt people!"_

Tsukasa and the lion broke the blade-lock with a fiery spark, but the boy was fast in relaying a counter-attack.

"And you're just as rotten as the rest of them!" Tsukasa drove his magical stick deep into the lion's gut, making it double over like a futon trying to stand up. The Bakemono was sent hopping back, but never had the chance to block a straight punch under its jaw.

Tsukasa went all out against his opponent, throwing more punches, kicks, and slashes with Celestia, his magical stick weapon. The lion beast received a beating of a life time, its body swaying left, right, up, down, back, front from every hit it received.

If one did not know better, it was as if Tsukasa was unleashing all of his life-worth of stress into every attack he dealt.

"_BRAOUH-OH-OH-OH-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"_

The lion beast was thrown into the ground, creating a deep crater shaped after its body frame. The high school boy clad in the magical girl uniform wiped off the sweat from his brow.

"*Pant* - *Pant* - *Pant*…Doesn't this creep ever give up?!"

"…Actually, this is pretty much a one-sided battle. You only refused to let the Bakemono fight back, let alone giving it the chance to retreat…"

"Tch. Whatever…"

"_Uuuuuh…I…feel…no…good…Want meat, but…too sick…"_

The Bakemono tried to pick itself up, its giant body shaking all over. Its yellow eyes connected with Tsukasa's glare, and somehow a new surge of fury filled the beast's breaking body.

"_But…this meat bad! Bad meat must be crushed! BAD MEAT NO MORE! ERAAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

With a mighty roar, the lion beast charged straight for its one and only prey.

"…I've had enough of you," Tsukasa muttered under his breath.

Celestia blinked, "Tsukasa! It's time to finish this once and for all! Preparing Magical Girl Celestial's ultimate attack: _Infinity Love Beam_—"

"SCREW THAT!" Tsukasa brought up Celestia face-to-face, eyes burning with another kind of determination, "If we're going to do this – we'll do this _my_ way…" The boy then held out the magical stick in both hands, took in a deep breath, and went—

"FINISHING MOVE!"

A large crimson circle popped open under the boy's feet and across the floor, made up entirely out of magical formulas and mystical markings. A burning red aura pulsed from his body, a surge of power rising up from within his very soul.

The lion beast ignored it, and raced onward even faster. In about less than one minute, the Bakemono was going to slash the boy apart with its claws without a second thought.

"_Scarlet Diver_—" Tsukasa swung up Celestia above his head like a sword and—"_ANNIHILATION!_"

—Slashed down to launch a giant neon-crimson orb full of focused energy. The orb sailed across the air like a wild rocket, facing the lion beast head on. Right before either the lion beast or red orb touched one another, the crimson sphere instantly transformed into a spear of scarlet energy – and pierced itself right through the Bakemono.

"…_U-uuuh…"_

The lion felt itself floating in the air, all the while it watched as its disconnected lower-half disintegrate into dying ashes. As its remaining upper-half began to follow, the lion glanced up at his one and only prey…to ask a single question:

"_You, meat…Who you?"_

"Listen closely, fleabag, because my name isn't Magical Girl Celestial or anything stupid like that…It's **TSUBASA**「翼」, remember that."

And so…the Bakemono faded away into dust, for all eternity.

[******]

_***Tap* - *Tap* - *Tap* - *Tap* - *Tap*~**_

"TSUKASA-KUN!"

Katsureina-sensei overshot the door to the attacked classroom and backtracked to it immediately. She jumped inside and looked left and right. Fear was written all over her face, one that said she was looking for that certain high school boy she was so worried about – or in worst case scenario, whatever was left of him (God forbid).

It did not take long for her to find the answer.

Kneeling in the center of the ravaged classroom, was that certain high school boy in his regular school uniform. He did not look like he was harmed or even injured. However, something was not right with him as she could only see the back of his sagging body

"Tsu-Tsukasa-kun! Are you hurt?! Speak to Sensei! Please!"

Katsureina-sensei ran to her student, kneeling down next to him. There was definitely something wrong, because she could feel an uneasy aura coming from him. The boy's hanging hair covered his face save for his mouth, which began to move.

"I…I…"

"What is it, Tsukasa-kun? D-don't tell Sensei that you're really hurt and that you don't have long to live?! EEK! What to do, what to do?!"

Katsureina-sensei was going into worry-overdrive as she started to think of something while nervously flapping her arms about.

"Uh-uh-uh, d-don't ever give up, Tsukasa-kun, you're going to pull through! I-if it helps, Sensei could be your girlfriend, to give you meaning in life…E-even though it's a little embarrassing, and it-it's kind of Sensei's first time in dating – she'll do her best to make sure you will live through this! So no matter what, Tsukasa-kun, DON'T DIE!"

"I…I failed the exam…"

"…Heh?" Katsuteina-sensei's glasses slipped off her face.

The kneeling Tsukasa was staring blankly at the shreds of paper he held in his hand. Many more were scattered across the floor around him. The remains of his (blank) calculus exam. Anything that was said to him until this point of time, were all omitted from his mind.

"…Even though I knew squat about the written answers, I could have had a chance with the multiple choice questions – or even the next-to-impossible bonus answer. My grades are already in the gutter, and I take every possible chance for raising it to average with utmost importance…but now, it's over…my hopes are like these bits of papers: shredded to oblivion."

Other than Katsureina-sensei, sitting right next to him was a certain pink cellphone (who had metamorphed back from a magical stick). The lady-like voice gave a long and inaudible sigh.

'…_How melodramatic…'_

The 140 cm teacher was silent. Her first response after a long pause: was a gentle pat on the distraught high school boy's shoulder.

"I-it's okay, Tsukasa-kun…We can always reschedule the tests for you and everyone else. It will definitely work out. Sensei promises!"

Tsukasa instantly flinched upon hearing the word 'reschedule'.

"…But the history exam's tomorrow, isn't it? I won't have enough time to study for both that and the calculus exam if we're going to take it on the same day tomorrow."

"Hmm? The calculus test won't be for tomorrow, it's going to be the day after. Even Sensei would think it's cruel to have students take three back-to-back examinations for history, English, and as well as calculus in one day!"

"…English?"

"Heh? Don't you know tomorrow that first period will be the history exam and the period before lunch-break you will also have an English examination, both written and oral?"

"…"

"T-Tsukasa-kun? What's wrong? Why are you staring at Sensei as if you're begging for her help? You can tell Sensei what's bothering you. Are you feeling unwell, or do you need Sensei to tutor you in—EEK! TSUKASA-KUN!"

Basara, Tsukasa collapsed across the broken floor. Lying on his back, a limp arm covered his eyes while his face had a flat expression. He gave off the feeling that he wanted to cry right then and there – but was unable to at the same time.

"…I'm screwed…"

Celestia 'shrugged'.

"Well, at the very least you'll get a second chance to take that calculus exam to improve your grades, wouldn't you agree—"

_***SLAM!***_

"GUH!…Haaa…Why do I even bother?…"

**{_END_}**


End file.
